Weirdest dream ever

I just had the weirdest dream. Of course it started that I was somewhere and I had to use the bathroom really bad, and it was near impossible to find one. I have those dreams a lot, where either the door is ridiculously short, or the toilet's filled with poo, or something. Terrible.

But then! Then randomly I was getting married the next day, and had gotten engaged only a couple days earlier. Even in the dream I knew it was crazy, that I shouldn't be rushing it but for some reason, I was like, "meh, who cares, it'll be fun" so I had to get the reception room ready, but it wasn't a church. Somehow I had found a nice place to have the reception, like a hotel or something. But then! There was a party happening that night so we had to take down all of the decorations.

I'm trying to remember who the guy was. In my dream it felt kinda fake, like maybe this was some joke we decided at the last minute to make happen for real. Weird. And I remember that I had a fake enagement ring and I think I had left it by the sink in the bathroom, but didn't really feel bad about it, even though I was sure someone would steal it.

Then! As I was still getting ready, I was walking toward the lobby of whatever place this was, and who should come walking through the lobby in jeans and a leather jacket but Conan O'Brien! I run to hug him but he had stuck out his hand to shake mine instead so that was awkward. I am a huge fan of Conan, so I was gushing and frantically trying to find some paper and a pen for an autograph. There was a huge line forming behind him for autographs. I knew I had to hurry or I'd lose my chance. Then I found a pen but it fell apart in my hand and I had to put it together, only to realize I had lost a piece of the pen, so when he tried to use it it didn't work and he looked at me like, "sigh... seriously?" And make some joke. Which I of course laughed at because it was so funny. While I feverously tried to fix the pen my dad was there and Conan looked at him like he knew him. Conan made a couple of jokes which happened to be the same kind of jokes my dad makes so my dad laughs. I'd like to add that Conan also did the "for...evvvvvverrrrr" thing from "The Sandlot" and I thought it was funny, but not really Conan's caliber of jokes. Which makes sense because Conan only had my imagination to come up with jokes, and let's face it...

And then! I was going to be on his show that night dressed up as a horse that had to be put in jail. I did my best to remember the acting (ha! Acting.) that I learned in high school and make him proud but I remember feeling like I was being overdramatic. Then I told Conan I was getting married the next day and he looked at me as if to think, "hey you should get married on this show," but then he realized that since I'm LDS that wouldn't work since I need to be married in the temple. So I said "but we could have a ring ceremony or something" but he said no. So we went about the sketch I was doing, which incidentally was a on different stage than he shoots on. He had said we'd move into his regular stage later. There were people running around getting striped clothes for me (small stripes so I wouldn't look fat, of course. Random!) and then my fiance shows up. He comes to visit me in "jail" and I stroke his cheek and he looks very much like that guy who plays Rachel McAdams' boyfriend in "The Hot Chick" which I had just watched the other night. I can't remember his name. He proceeds to tell me that he was with another girl and that she would have a part in our marriage. For some sickening reason, I agree that's ok because he's so good looking.  [I'd like to interject here, and say that's ridiculous. No man of mine will ever be allowed to have a girl on the side. I'm sure you all know that, but in case someone is worried I'm that stupid/low self esteem, then don't worry.]

So! We do my bit and then we watched Conan's monologue and I think that's when I woke up.

Tea Party, Minus Tea. Who needs tea do have cute food and wear white lace gloves?

A few of the girls in the ward up here got together for a really cute tea party around Valentines Day. Nothing like dressing up super girly to make you feel pretty, while eating chocolate-covered strawberries and these yummy spinach-parmesan appetizers I brought.

My dad makes the BEST waffles.

The best thing you could ever hear my dad say is, "Hey do you want some of the best most delicious, awesome waffles?"

The answer, me hearties, is always a resounding yes.

Observe:

See that glorious steam? So good.

Really Happy I Read This Book.

So a couple of days ago a friend of mine was walking by and he was holding a copy of this book. I am always on the lookout for recommended reads, so I asked him, hey what book is that and do you like it? Wrote down the name, and checked it out at the El Toro library (a favorite lunchtime haunt of mine).

Loved it! I highly recommend it. It's definitely one of those make-you-want-to-do-something-with-your-life books, which are always a good kick in the pants for me. He's also a pretty strong Christian, and finds ways to thank God for the blessings in his life. I found a lot in common with what he said. A couple of thoughts that came to mind while I read it:

• I need to work more on following what the Holy Ghost prompts me to do. He talked a lot about how essentially God is the writer of our "story" (read: life), and in order to have a better story, we need to trust that he knows what composes a better story, i.e. trials, being nicer, etc. (I'm butchering it, but that's why you read books written by other people, not me.)
• A good story consists of meaningful scenes. Relationships, adventures, growing through hard times, etc. Human beings are content with, well, being content. In staying comfortable, we stay stagnant and stop growing, become unhappy, yet unwilling to find what we essentially need to feel better about our lives.
• Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. One cannot expect the significant other in our life to be perfect, or even at all to "complete" us. One thought is that there is no such thing as a soul mate, because no such person exists that can complete us. Here's an excerpt: 
• "I was interviewing my friend Susan Isaacs ... she said she and her husband believed they were a cherished prize for each other, and they would probably drive any other people mad. But then she said something I thought was wise. She said she had married a guy, and he was just a guy. He wasn't going to make all her problems go away, because he was just a guy. And that freed her to really love him as a guy, not as an ultimate problem solver...neither needed the other to make everything okay. They were simply content to have good company through life's conflicts."
• Oh, and I feel strongly about this: marketing essentially tells us that we would be happy if we had the next best thing. Which I'm sure we all are aware of, or at least have heard that. But it truly does that. In thinking that a material possession can make us instantly and completely happy, we never are satisfied with what we have, since there is always something new to take its place. So sad.
• "If you want to know what a person's story is about, just ask them what they want. If we don't want anything, we are living boring stories, and if we want a Roomba vacuum cleaner, we are living stupid stories. If it won't work in a story, it won't work in life."
• Last thought: life has no climax, and certainly no "happily ever after" in the story sense. When we sacrifice something, we think it will be worth it, right? We translate that to meaning that what happens after that will be great and easy and then when it's not we are disappointed. Life is the story. It's the struggle, and means more when you sacrifice, even if it doesn't get easier after that.

Like I said, read it.

Come on New York, New Yoooooork!

I'm planning a trip to New York over Labor Day weekend. Pretty excited. If any of you have advice, tips, etc, let me know!! I want to see it all. :)